A glass totally EMPTY

Michèle discovered choosing not to drink can be a sobering experience

- Musings from our favourite Kiwi funnywoman

Here's a thing you notice when you're not drinking - just how avidly people assume that everyone does.

This is what “Kiwi drinking culture” means - not just the premise that drinking is “normal”, but that not drinking is... a little bit weird. So weird, you should probably have an explanation handy for this peculiar choice you've made.

I should be clear, I'm not a full-time non-drinker. I have been known to enjoy a refreshing alcoholic beverage on occasion. Rummage around in the photos on my phone and there's probably solid evidence of blurry good times.

But there are also a lot of times when I don't drink, like at work, when I'm on medication or just don't fancy it.